The First Book of Samuel

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 3 -

Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord before Eli, and the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no manifest vision.(a)

Then it happened that, on a certain day, Eli was lying in his place. And his eyes had dimmed, so that he was unable to see.

And so, to prevent the lamp of God from going out, Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

And the Lord called Samuel. And responding, he said, “Here I am.”

And he ran to Eli, and he said, “Here I am. For you called me.” And he said: “I did not call. Return and sleep.” And he went away, and he slept.

And again, the Lord continued to call to Samuel. And rising up, Samuel went to Eli, and he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” And he responded: “I did not call you, my son. Return and sleep.”

Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him.

And the Lord continued, and he called to Samuel still a third time. And rising up, he went to Eli.

And he said: “Here I am. For you called me.” Then Eli understood that the Lord had called the boy. And he said to Samuel: “Go and sleep. And if he calls to you from now on, you will say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ” Therefore, Samuel went away, and he slept in his place.

And the Lord came, and stood, and he called, just as he had called the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” And Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”

And the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I am accomplishing a word in Israel. Whoever will hear about it, both his ears will ring.

In that day, I will raise up against Eli all the things that I have spoken over his house. I will begin, and I will finish.

For I have foretold to him that I will judge his house unto eternity, because of iniquity. For he had known that his sons acted shamefully, and he did not chastise them.(b)

For this reason, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of his house will not be expiated, with victims or with gifts, even forever.”

Samuel Shares the Vision

Then Samuel slept until morning, and he opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

Then Eli called Samuel, and he said, “Samuel, my son?” And responding, he said, “I am here.”

And he questioned him: “What is the word that the Lord has spoken to you? I beg you that you may not conceal it from me. May God do these things to you, and may he add these other things, if you hide from me one word out of all the things that were told to you.”

And so, Samuel revealed to him all the words, and he did not hide them from him. And he responded: “He is the Lord. May he do what is good in his own eyes.”

And Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, and not one of his words fell to the ground.

And all of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew Samuel to be a faithful prophet of the Lord.

And the Lord continued to appear in Shiloh. For the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh, according to the word of the Lord. And the word about Samuel went forth to all of Israel.

Footnotes

(a)3:1 Precious:That is, rare.(Challoner)

(b)3:13 Eli’s mild verbal rebuke of his sons was not acceptable to the Lord. For Eli had authority over his sons and the other priests, and so he should have acted with authority, rather than merely pleading as one might do who lacks authority. If Eli did not have authority, he would be without guilt. But because he had the authority to correct and did not do so, he is guilty.(Conte)

The child Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. The LORD’s word was rare in those days. There were not many visions, then.

At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),

and God’s lamp hadn’t yet gone out, and Samuel had laid down in the LORD’s temple where God’s ark was,

The LORD called Samuel. He said, “Here I am.”

He ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call. Lie down again.” He went and lay down.

The LORD called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son. Lie down again.”

Now Samuel didn’t yet know the LORD, neither was the LORD’s word yet revealed to him.

The LORD called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

The LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”

The LORD said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from the beginning even to the end.

For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves, and he didn’t restrain them.

Therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be removed with sacrifice or offering forever.”

Samuel Shares the Vision

Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the LORD’s house. Samuel was afraid to show Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”

He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”

Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him.”

Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD.

The LORD appeared again in Shiloh; for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the LORD’s word.